Wednesday, October 2, 2013

October

We're officially in October. Most people like October for the stereotypical reasons: fall weather, leggings, pumpkin-flavors, dead leaves, etc... My reason for liking October is kind of weird. I have an OCD thing about writing out the date. Take my birthday this year for instance, I can't write it as 8/18/13. It's not even. I have to write it as 08/18/13. I like October because it's the 10th month and it's naturally even.I'm weird. A funny October story:When I worked at Outback they would sell seasonal beers. Samuel Adams Octoberfest was a popular item. Since it's seasonal, there is no Octoberfest button. You would ring in a regular Sam Adams and and type "Octoberfest" into the special instruction area so the bartender would get you the proper beer. It was a really slow Monday evening one day last year and was kind of dull and boring. I went to ring in a beer and got the idea to have some fun: I typed "Cocktoberfest." I do dumb things to entertain myself. People there seemed to think it was funny.* * *In a weird conundrum of sorts, I'm both more motivated than I've been in years and not motivated to do anything at all. I'm motivated to do things that I don't necessarily have to do. Recording a podcast at this point in life helps me in no way. It's just an extra hassle I'm putting on myself. But I like it and where it can take me. So, that's a new priority for myself.I've been doing some more writing. I've established a relationship with Muckrack, a journalism networking site. They posted an article I wrote about why advocacy journalism is important for small towns. It's about how small-town newspapers need to report on important issues and not just fun "fluff" pieces. I wonder where I got the inspiration for that?For those who don't get my snark: The Princeton Times. But, Chris, don't ruin a potential networking opportunity with an ill-timed comment. They haven't responded to my emails in nearly 2 years; I'd say the networking is done there.Their loss. I was once told I was too cocky for my own good. That was years ago, back when I had a reason to be cocky; back when I was on my way to becoming somebody. I've just sort of been a shell of myself for a couple years now. My life was on the downswing for way too long. For the last couple days at least I've started feeling better about myself. Will this good feeling last? Honestly, I'd say not. For the moment now I've back to my old self. I'd call it "mentally healthy." I'm that right now.* * *Months ago I expressed my interest in getting a Nintendo 64 and reliving my childhood through video games. I wrote at the time that I couldn't jump into modern-day gaming because I'd get too immersed into it and become a "gamer" again. I did get my N64 about a month ago. It's a nice trip down memory lane.* * *My hair's long enough to put in a ponytail now. It might be time for a haircut. I don't know. We'll see.* * *Unfriended a girl on Facebook for the way she asked about the government shutdown. I can't stand people sometimes. Another girl wrote "Is the government shutdown for real? lol" I don't even know how to express my frustration with the inability of people to keep up with the news.And not even to become experts. I'm not a political expert. I can't go into in-depth detail about what's going on in Washington right now. But, I know why there is a government shutdown and how that affects me. That's all I want people to know.You're posting on Facebook. That means you're on a computer or smartphone. The news is right there. You don't even have to put quarters into a newspaper dispenser. I'm not endorsing Jon Stewart; he at times has become a parody of himself and it's turned me off of him. But his take on what caused this from a couple days ago is a pretty fair assessment. Click here to check that out.* * *That's it for now. I'll come back with something more meaningful (or not) in the future. Podcast 03 should be up in a couple days. I went to the 10-02-13 meeting of the SGA, so I'll have a summary of that written soon.